Addvice on New tank

[mjkelly]

Ok, Well I am a true addict here..I started off with my 10 gallon Freshwater tank. I really wanted to do a salt but decided to start with a fresh..and its been fun and quite a learning curve. anyhow I have decided to move up to bigger things here.
I am thinking of Buying this awsome 150 gallon tank and I am looking for addvice on Filters,sumps.etc..Im not doing a reef tank or anything..just Fish..



any help would be great..

 

[mp3z24]

buy "The Conscientous Marine Aquarist" by Fenner....
read every chapter... you may want to stop when you get to the specifics on each species of fish.

what does that "Awsomw 150 Gallon Tank" come with? is it new or used?

you dont necessarily need a sump... but it is a nice thing to have. is the tank "reef ready"?

take your time, patience is a virtue in this hobby. as is knowledge, and im still learning myself.

~mike

 

[mjkelly]

It's a brand new tank..I don't think it comes with anything..which is fine..I like to pick out what I am going to use..Im gona check out this Book..

 

[David03]

Based on my research so far... one thing you may want to do is make sure you get a "reef ready" tank, which is pre-drilled and may or may not have an overflow box.

Without it, unless you are really handy, you'll have alot of work to do. The RR tanks will give you more options with sumps and all of the other stuff to do the Berlin method or anything else you choose.

Definitely read Fenner's book. I'm using it as my bible.

I may be wrong on this... so perhaps others will chime in.

 

[lando]

I am a fan of reef-ready tanks as well. They are easy to plumb a sump into which gives you a lot of benefits. A place to hide equipment, run bio/chemical/mechanical filtration, skimmers, heaters etc...
For a filter I suggest lots of LR and a good skimmer, and lots of powerheads.

 

[mjkelly]

I am Glad you mentioned that about a reef ready tank..I don't want to have to modify to much to get it the way I want it.

 

[mp3z24]

you dont necessarily need a reef ready tank... but it helps. basically, reef-ready means that the tank is already drilled for an overflow/sump connection. a standard fish tank, with no pre-drilled holes can still be used. however, if you want to use a sump with a standard tank, you will have to use a hang-on siphon overflow. it will work the same... it is just a matter of preference and availability.

~mike

 

[malkore]

Welcome to the dark side Mj

I will say this...plan everything out before you buy anything (except that book, its a must have item).

A Salt tank can be great fun, but can also be expensive. If you wanted a reef tank with corals and live rock, you could easily spend $2,000-$3,000 (retail) setting up a 150gallon. Reef lighting, and 200-300lbs of live rock are two of the biggest expenses...but also provide major benefits to the mini-ocean you are creating. Certain DIY solutions can help you save cash, and careful equipment selection will prevent wasting funds on bad equipment.

I don't want to sound pessimistic or dissuade you from this...but I do want you to know what your rough budget should be. You can always start with FO or FOWLR, and upgrade the lighting later on if you desire a reef.

 

[pearsont74]

I concer with malkore....I too am doing a FOWLR to start on my 80gal and plan to upgrade my lights to start moving into a reef tank.
I highly suggest a sump....and suggest one that is good size. The only down side to RR predrilled tanks is you can not expand the amount of overflow unless you drill more holes....you can always add a 2nd overflow box plus i would thing cleaning a RR overflow would not be fun.
do your research and get as much advice as possible and choose what is best within ur budget... when you can do it yourself....I have had good luck buying used stuff but thats a risk.

 

[mjkelly]

Yea I was planning on an FO OR FOWLR..I new it was going to be more expensive..
I like to reef idea..but a little more than I wanted to spend right now..